The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) will be meeting November 3-4, 2011 to discuss a number of Medicare policy issues, including: reforming Medicare’s benefit design; Medicare Part D/beneficiaries with high drug spending; coordinating care for dual-eligible beneficiaries through the PACE program; reforming the Medicare SNF PPS; hospitals’ capacity to serve Medicare patients; payment rate differences

Recent Congressional hearings focusing on health policy issues include:

  • House Ways and Means Committee hearings on expiring Medicare provider payment provisions and the impact of health sector mergers and acquisitions on private health insurance costs;
  • A Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on “Securing the Pharmaceutical Supply Chain“;
  • A House Judiciary

CMS is allowing states to test two new financial models intended to improve care coordination and reduce costs for individuals enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid (known as “dual eligibles” or “Medicare-Medicaid enrollees”). The models are designed to better align the financing of these two programs and integrate primary, acute, behavioral health, and long term